The present invention relates to five-card draw poker and to five-card stud poker games and, more particularly, to five-card poker games played by an individual player on an electronic gaming machine that deals from a standard 52 card poker deck with the player placing a "bet" wager before being dealt (face-up) a five-card draw poker hand or a partial stud poker hand.
Where the machine game is five-card draw poker, the player thereupon evaluates his or her machine dealt cards with respect to the winning hand combinations set forth on the paytable of the machine and elects to hold the hand as dealt or to exchange (discard) one or more of the original cards of the five-card hand with replacement machine dealt cards. The draw poker machine then displays replacement cards for the cards the player has discarded. The player wins or loses the hand based upon conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five-card hand. The paytable is established based upon the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved by the player.
A typical paytable or payout schedule that is used in electronic video draw poker machines is set forth below:
______________________________________ PAYTABLE I. Coins or Tokens Deposited 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________ Royal Flush 250 500 750 1000 4000 Straight Flush 50 100 150 200 250 Four of a Kind 25 50 75 100 125 Full House 9 18 27 36 45 Flush 6 12 18 24 30 Straight 4 8 12 16 20 Three of a Kind 3 6 9 12 15 Two Pair 2 4 6 8 10 Jacks or Better 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________
Where the machine game is five-card stud poker, the initial hand dealt to the player usually comprises four face-up cards and the player has the option of staying (standing on the initial "bet" wager) or betting additional coins or tokens (most stud poker machines allow only a doubling of the initial "bet" wager) to increase the amount of a winning payout when he or she receives the fifth card. After the fifth card is dealt to the player, the value of the five-card hand is determined based upon conventional poker hand rankings for his or her five-card hand. Again, the paytable is established based upon the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved by the player. Paytable I. above may also apply to machine played five-card stud poker games except that a double payout may be achievable as indicated above.
Poker is one of the most exciting gambling games because it includes for each individual player a mix of skill, luck, and psychology. Throughout the world millions of players try their luck each year at the game of poker at card tables and at electronic gaming machines in gaming rooms and casinos.
Five-card draw poker at card tables is typically played in two basic formats, i.e., between players or between individual players and a house dealer. Many table-game players prefer a player-versus-player draw poker game because it involves the elements of inter-player skill and psychology, the latter element including a player's ability to bluff the strength of his or her hand versus the assumed strength of the hands of the other players. Many other table-game players prefer to play a "stud" form of poker at a standard gaming table against a house dealer or against a paytable of hands because such table game play tends to minimize the elements of skill and psychology with each player relying principally on luck.
There remains a need in the gaming room and casino businesses for new draw poker and stud poker type games which can be played on electronic video poker gaming machines and which provide an appropriate mix of the elements of player skill and luck along with a speed-up of game play time and the excitement of involving a multitude of royal card hands.